Biography: Julia Dreblow BA (Hons), Dip PFS

Overview

SRI Services draws on Julia Dreblow’s (married name ‘Riches’) 30+ years experience in financial services, 25 of which have been spent specialising full time in retail sustainable, responsible, ESG and ethical investment.

Known for her passion for this area, Julia now runs her own business offering adviser friendly ‘SRI’ tools, promoting this area – and helping to upskill and equip others.

The ultimate aim of this work is to improve individual investor access to funds that direct investment towards companise that will help us to transition towards sustainable lifestyles – whilst reflecting the reality that both client aims and fund manager strategies vary.

In line with the aim of increasing awareness of the important role investors play in addressing the world’s sustainability challenges both the SRI Services website and the adviser friendly ESG fund hub Fund EcoMarket are free to use and open to all. (c2000 users pm according to Google Analytics, 2020.)

Julia also carries out a range of related consultancy/partnership all with the aim of directing investment towards more investments that can help raise sustainability standards.

Current additional activity includes working with Parmenion, interactive investor, PIMFA, FCA, TISA, BSI  and others – as well as being a regular event speaker, media commentator and contributor to publications including Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts.

We do not chase awards, but SRI Services was the winner of the ‘Best Sustainable & ESG Support Service Provider or Consultancy’ 2021 (Investment Week), a finalist of the ‘Best SRI Research Provider’ 2021 (Investment Week), Highly Commended’ (runner up) in the Corporation of London’s Sustainable City Awards (Sustainable Finance) in 2015, in addition to being shortlisted for a number of investment industry awards in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019

Julia was previously known as the spokesperson for the Friends Provident SRI (Sustainable and Responsible Investment) proposition where she was ‘SRI Marketing Manager’ for 12 years (see below).

She was also previously a director of the not-for profit SRI membership organisation UKSIF (UK Sustainable Investment and Finance) for seven years, when she helped develop their retail programme which subsequently became Good Money Week (now now its 11th year.) and again in 2018 – 2021.

2009 – 2020 SRI Services / Fund EcoMarket summary

For additional information sign up to our newsletter or view our news/blog .  Literature and video links are available via our  literature directory lead and sub pages. (Financial services professionals only). Below are activities of key recent activities.

As at January 2022 Fund EcoMarket sponsors are Liontrust, Rathbones, Pictet, Quilter Cheviot, Sarasin & Partners, Triodos, Unicorn AM, M&G, Janus Henderson, Aegon, WHEB, Foresight, Edentree, abrdn, BMO, BNY Mellon, Fidelity, Stewart Investors, Jupiter Asset Management, PIMCO, Lombard Odier & BlueBay AM.

• Appointed to the FCA’s new ‘Disclosure and Labels Advisory Group’ in November 2021
• Annual Good Money Event 2021 – Keynote speaker Mark Manning, FCA Technical Specialist, Sustainable Finance and Stewardship
• Appointed to BSI 7342 steering committee May 2021.
• Annual Good Money Week event 2020 – Keynote speaker Richard Monks, FCA Director of Strategy
• Lead Author PIMFA ESG Academy (Launched September 2020)
• Fund EcoMarket database upgraded to allow pension funds to be filtered by ESG preferences
• SRI Styles fund categorisations revised 2020 (see blog & database)
• Fund EcoMarket App launched July 2020 (free to use – search ‘Fund EcoMarket))
• Reappointed UKSIF Director October 2018 and served until October 2021
  
• Support interactive investor ethical ACE list, which went live in September 2019
• See Media pages and Blog on Fund EcoMarket for recent comment
• ‘SRI Services & Partners Annual Good Money Week  event held annually
• TISA RSI committee member

Please see www.Fund EcoMarket.co.uk for more recent event and activity information.

• ‘Sustainability & Suitability’ Good Money Week October 2018 held at the Mermaid in London  – Kenote Speaker Lord Deben

• 2018 Fund EcoMarket upgraded to be responsive, new filter options added and subheading added within filter options to make market ‘taxonomy’ clearer.

• Summer 2018 appointed ambassador (and advisory board member ) to the Transparency Task Force (TTF) – stood down 2020

• FTAdviser Impact Investment article February 2018

• ‘A taste of things to come’ SRI Services Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts article December 2017

• November 2016 & 2017 – sriServices and partners held ‘Screened, Themed and Engaged’ London events at the Guildhall and the Museum of London respectively

• September 2016 – CII Thinkpiece published ‘SRI: environmentally, socially and financially useful – and uniquely placed to help build trust’ (following PFS event in May)

• March 2016 guest of Asset TV – ‘Sustainable, responsible and ethical investment masterclass’ live televised event

• February 2016 – Citywire / New Model Adviser ‘Integrating ethics’ video published

• February 2016 – joined advisory panel for ‘Good With Money’

• January 2016 – appointed ‘adviser’ to fund research provider RSMR (see literature directory for current material)

• November 2015 – Fund EcoMarket  v2 launched (event kindly hosted by Rathbones)

• October 2015 – sriServices/RSMR host adviser event and launch new SRI guide in Leeds (also in 2016)

• September 2015 – ’30 People, 30 words, 30 years – adviser guide to why ethical investment matters’ – published with Panacea Adviser

• July 2015 – Fund EcoMarket v2.0 went live  in new ‘open to all’ format (initially with limited data only)

• March 2015 – ‘Highly Commended’ : Corporation of London Sustainable City Award (Sustainable Finance category)

• 2015 – joined Standards International impartiality committee

• May 2014 – Collaborated on launch of new RSMR SRI Guide and Rated SRI fund list

• August 2013 – Appointed to Parmenion IM Ethical Oversight Committee (ongoing)

• October 2012 saw the launch of the PanaceaAdviser Ethical Zone and Fund EcoMarket database tool (‘powered by sriServices’).  Julia is a regular contributer to the Panacea newsletter (‘Bento’ – received by over 14,000 advisers) and other services.

• April 2012 ‘Adviser Guide to Sustainable and Responsible Investment’ was launched – a collaborative project between  Rayner Spencer Mills and sriServices.

• Fund EcoMarket database tool launched October 2011  (version 1, with log in area)

• sriServices.co.uk adviser support site launched in May 2011

• November 2010 – presented ‘Green and Ethical Funds on Platform / Wraps’ research paper commissioned by UKSIF

• Spoke at EIRIS Ethical Finance webinar: ‘Ethical Finance – What do consumers want? How should financial advisers respond?’ November 2010.

• Work was scaled back during 2010 because of major house fire.

• In December 2009 – researching and writing a report for UKSIF entitled: ‘Green and Ethical Funds on Platforms and Wraps’ – focusing on the challenges and opportunities of this area.

• Supported financial journalist and broadcaster Sarah Pennells in the writing  ‘Green Money – How to save and invest ethically’ – part of the Guardian’s Financial Intelligence series (published June 2009).

• 2009 – Wrote our v1 website ‘SRI Consultants’, supported events  such as those of industry body UKSIF, spoke at Market Research Society (MRS) seminar and presented at the Ecology Building Society AGM (2009), also supported  the EIRiS Blog www.greenmoneyblog.blogspot.com and served as ‘green and ethical money expert’ on  www.savvywoman.co.uk.

 1996 – 2008  Friends Provident (now part of Aviva)

Julia was attracted to work for former Quaker company Friends Provident in November 1996 by their Stewardship range of ethical funds. She joined Friends Provident as a Senior IFA Consultant, soon moving into marketing and sales management roles to develop and communicate their SRI and ethical investment proposition (which boasted around 1/4 million clients).

She spent 12 years at Friends – over 10 years of which was spent promoting SRI both internally and externally. She worked closely with SRI analysts and investment management teams (mainly at F&C – now BMO), sales, marketing and PR departments. She worked closely with IFA sales teams, dealing regularly with specialist and non specialist advisers. She regularly attended Stewardship Committee of Reference meetings – where she brought her knowledge of IFAs and their clients to the table.

From 2002 – 2008 Julia was the SRI Marketing Manager, responsible for the Stewardship brand as well as developing, expanding and communicating the Friends SRI proposition. She worked extensively with the media; was regularly quoted, wrote many articles and took part in numerous radio and TV interviews.

Their range included the  Stewardship funds as well as a range of ‘external funds’ and the reo  ‘engagement’ options.  Julia expanded their investment platform’s by linking it to include a diverse range of external SRI funds which brought 14 green and ethical options under one roof .   During that period the Friends Provident SRI sales levels, market share, reputation and media profile all strengthened significantly.

UKSIF 2002 – 2009

Julia was a director of UKSIF, the highly regarded not-for-profit sustainable investment and finance association, for seven years. She had extensive involvement in the programmes that were aimed at individual investors and financial advisers – having been co-opted to the board in 2002 to chair their ‘Retail Revolution’ sub-committee – and was then voted on to the main board by members in 2003 and 2006.

The Retail sub-committee was instrumental in setting up and steering the UKSIF ‘Retail Revolution’ programme. This project involved creating an Adviser SRI Toolkit, a Technical Guide for IFAs (as referenced in UK guidance on implementing ISO 22222), seminars and on-line training for advisers. The programme substantially raised awareness of green and ethical investment amongst UK financial advisers. This work helped to shape the retail (individual investor) SRI sector today.

Julia also served on the inaugural ‘NEIW advisory board’ where she helped set up the first National Ethical Investment Week  in 2008. This ongoing initiative focuses on increasing investor awareness of green and ethical investment. She stood down from the UKSIF board in 2009.

1989 – 95

Julia started at NPI as  a graduate trainee broker consultant in 1989.  She first become interested in green and ethical funds in 1991 when NPI launched their  ‘Global Care’ range.